THE face of thefe countries is low and level, not a hill to be seen from St. Auguftine to Virginia, and a great way being, and is generally covered with wood, where the planters have not cleared it. But about one hundred miles weft of the coaft the country rifes gradually to the Apalachian mountains, which are about 150 miles diftant from the Atlantic Ocean. This ocean is fo fhallow near the coaft, that a fhip of any great burden cannot approach it, except in fome few places. There has not yet been found one good harbour in North Carolina; the best are thofe of Roanoak, at the mouth of Albemarle River, and Pimlico. In South Carolina there are the harbours of Winyaw, or George Town, Charles Town, and Port Royal. In Georgia, the mouths of the rivers Savannah and Alatamaba, form good harbours.

CAROLINA is fituate between the extremities of heat and cold; but the heat is more troublefome in fummer, than the cold in winter. The vegetables are innumerable, for all that grow in Europe grow here, not to mention many that cannot ftand our winters. The country has, and would produce filk, wine, and oil, if properly cultivated; mulberry-trees and grapes grow fpontaneoufly, and the foil is extremely proper for olives. We have had famples of their filk brought over, equal to any we purchase of foreigners. Georgia, the most fouthern province, is not a fruitful country; but having several fine rivers running through it, the banks of them are fortified, and make a very good barrier for the Carolinas, which were before expofed to the incurfions and ravages of the Spaniards and their Indian allies.

AMONG their native animals they have the urus, which the English improperly call a buffalo. The other native animals are the fame as in Mexico and Florida; and the European cattle are vaftly increafed here, as well as in other plantations. The wool of their fheep is not inferior to the English. Poultry and other fowls are in great plenty.

THE English traffic with the Indians for deer-skins, and bear and buffalo fkins, for which they give them guns, powder, knives, fciffars, looking-glaffes, beads, and fome coarfe cloth and duffils. Thele are carried on packhorfes 5 or 600 miles into the country, weft of CharlesTown; but most of the trade is confined within the limits of the Creek and Cherokee nations, which do not lie above 300 miles from the oaft.

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Virginia.

THE chief commodities fhipped off from Carolina yearly are great quantities of rice, deer-fkins, pitch and tar turpentine, and indigo, which laft thrives better here than in any of our other plantations.

CAROLINA was the laft country, in America planted by the English, after Sir Walter Ralegh's unfortunate attempts to fix colonies in Carolina, in the latter end of the reign of queen Elizabeth. It feems to have been intirely overlooked till the restoration of Charles II. The then miniftry being informed that Carolina would produce wine, oil, and filk, and almost every thing that England wanted, procured a patent or grant to themfelves, dated the 24th of March, 1663, of great part of this coaft; the grantees being Edward, Earl of Clarendon, lord chancellor; George duke of Albemarle, the general; William, lord Craven; John, lord Berkley; the lord Anthony Ashley Cooper; Sir George Carteret, Sir William Colleton, and their heirs. These proprietors, however, did little towards planting it, until the year 1670, when lord Afhley ftruck cut a whimsical kind of government for the colony, creating a palatine or fovereign, with a council to be a check upon him; which involved them in perpetual quarrels, and almoft deftroyed the plantation as soon as it was fettled; to prevent which, they were at length obliged to fell their fhares to the crown: and it is now a royal government, only the late earl of Granville thought fit to retain his feventh fhare. The prefent governors, appointed by the crown, are, for South-Carolina, Thomas Boone, Efq; for North Carolina, Ar. Dodds, Efq; and for Georgia, James Wright, Efq;

VIRGINIA borders upon Carolina, which is its fouth boundary; its other boundaries being the river Patowmack, which divides it from Maryland on the north-eaft; the Atlantic Ocean on the eaft; and the Apalachian Mountains on the weft. It is computed to be about 240 miles in length, and 200 in breadth. As we approach it from the ocean, it appears to be low land; and for one hundred miles up into the country, there is fcarce a hill or ftone to be met with. Before being planted it confifted of forefts, bogs, and moraifes, which laft the people in the West Indies call fwamps, and fuch the greatest part of it is at present. Their trees are much loftier than ours, and no underwood or bushes grow beneath. People travel with eafe through thefe forefts on horseback, and never want a fine fhade to defend them from the

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fummer heats. The air and feafons depend very much on the wind, as to heat and cold, drynefs and moisture; the north and north-west winds are very nitrous, piercing cold, and clear, or elfe ftormy; the fouth-eaft and fouth, hazy and fultry hot; in winter they have a fine clear air, and dry, which renders it very pleasant; their frofts are fhort, but sometimes so very fharp, that it will freeze the rivers over three miles broad. Snow falls fometimes in pretty great quantities, but rarely continues above a day or two; their fpring is about a month earlier thanin England; in April they have frequent rains; May and June the heat increases, and the fummer is much like ours, being mitigated with gentle breezes, that rise about. nine o'clock, and decrease and increase as the fun rifes and falls. July and Auguft those breezes cease, and the air becomes ftagnant; then the heat is violent and troublefome. In September the weather ufually breaks fuddenly, and heavy rains fall, when many fall fick, this being the time for fluxes, fcorbutic dropfies, gripes, or the like.

THE great bay of Cheefepeak runs up through Virginia and Maryland, almost due north, 300 miles and upwards, being navigable moft part of the way for large fhips. We enter this bay between two promontories, called Cape Charles and Cape Henry. Into the weft fide of the fame bay fall four great rivers, which rife in the Apalachian Mountains, running from the north-west to the fouth-east; the molt foutherly of thefe is James River, generally about two miles over, and navigable ac leaft eighty miles. A little to the northward of this is York River, and north of York River is that of Rappahanock, and further north is the great river of Patowmack, which is navigable near 200 miles, and nine miles broad, in fome places, but generally about feven.

No country produces greater quantities of excellent tobacco, and yet Virginia is generally a fandy land, with a very fhallow foil; fo that after they have cleared a fresh piece of ground out of the woods, it will not bear tobacco above two or three years, unlefs cow-penned, or well dunged. Of fpontaneous flowers there are great variety; the fineft crown imperial in the world, the cardinal flower, fo much extolled for its fcarlet colour; and almost all the year round the plains and vallies are adorned with flowers of one kind or other. There is alfo found the fine tulip-bearing laurel tree, which has

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the pleasantest smell imaginable, and keeps bloffoming and feeding feveral months together. Silk grafs grows fpontaneous in many places; and its fibres being as fine as flax, and much stronger than hemp, how great must be the advantages of fo ufeful a plant? The woods produce great variety of frankincense and fweet gums, which diftil from feveral trees. All forts of naval ftores may be produced there, as pitch, tar, rofin, turpentine, planktimber, mafts and yards, besides fails, cordage and iron; and all these may be tranfported by any easy water-carriage to Great-Britain. Their animals are generally the fame as those already enumerated in Florida and Carolina.

SOME attempts were made by Sir Walter Ralegh and others to fettle colonies here, and at Carolina, in the reign of queen Elizabeth; but all of them through neglect proved ineffectual till king James I. by his letters patent, dated the 10th of April 1606, authorized Sir Thomas Gates, Sir George Summers, Richard Hackluit, clerk, prebendary of Westminster, and other adventurers, to plant the coalt of Virginia between 35 and 45 degrees of north latitude. Hereupon, having fitted out three fmall fhips, they fee fail from the Downs the 5th of January 1606-7, and on the 26th of April 1606, arrived in the bay of Cheefepeak, and failing up the river Powhatan, now James River, they landed on a peninsula about fifty miles up the river, where they built a fort, and afterwards a town, which they called James-Town, in honour of king James I. This was the first town built by the English on the continent of America. There happened fome fkirmishes between the English and the natives at their landing; but the fear of fire-arms brought the latter to a pretended reconciliation, waiting, however, for an opportunity of falling upon these ftrangers, when they fhould meet an advantage. The fort being finifhed, captain Newport, who commanded the expedition, returned to England on the 22d of June 1607, leaving 104 men in the new fettlement. The garrifon foon finding themselves in want of provifions, and the natives refufing to furnish them with any, though they offered to give the full value for them, the English found themselves under the neceffity of plundering the country; upon which an open war commenced between them and the natives. However, tresh supplies and reinforcements coming over, commanded by the lord Delawar, the Indians were glad to enter into a treaty of peace,

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peace, during which, the English finding a great demand for tobacco in Europe, began to encourage the planting of it, in which they fucceeded beyond their expectations; and at the fame time Sir George Yardly, the governor, established a government resembling that of England, and the first general affembly, or parliament met at James-Town in May 1620, and negroes were first imported into Virginia the fame year. The planters not long after falling out among themselves, the Indians took advantage of their divifions, and made different attempts to recover their country, killing great numbers of the English by furprize. Thele misfortunes being afcribed to the mal-adminiftration of the company, king Charles 1. diffolved them in the year 1626, and reduced the government of Virginia under his own immediate direction, appointing the governor and council himself, ordering all patents and procefs to iffue in the king's name, and referving a quit-rent of two fhillings for every 100 acres of

After this regulation, there were other parties and factions again, and the Indians made new efforts to recover their liberties. The prudence of Sir William Berkley, the governor, compofed thefe diffenfions, and having afterwards made peace with the Indians, he promoted manufactures of filk and linen in this plantation, and was in all respects elteemed as an excellent governor; but the act of navigation, reftraining the planters from fending their merchandize to foreign countries, and from receiving cloathing, furniture, or fupplies, from any nation but England, having created a great deal of difcontent, Mr. Bacon, a popular, factious gentleman, took the advantage of their difaffection, and fetting up for himfelf, drew the people into rebellion, depofed the governor, and compelled him to fly to the eaftern fhore of the bay of Cheefepeak; and had not Bacon died in good time, he had probably made himself fovereign of Virginia. Upon his death Sir William returned to his government, and the people to their duty, fince which there have been no material alterations in the state of Virginia; but they have neglected making filk, wine, and every other branch of bufinefs which the foil and climate feemed proper for, and employed themfelves folely in the planting and curing of tobacco.

It is computed there are in Virginia upwards of 100,000 fouls, befides fervants and flaves, which are above twice that number. The government is formed upon the English model; the governor acts as king; the council fupplies the place of a houfe of lords, and the houfe of representatives the commons. The prefent governor is major-general Amber A.

MOD. HIST. VOL. XLIV.

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